Mabch 18, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



427 



distributed throughout the higher piedmont 

 region of Georgia. During the spring of 

 1909, the writer captured two individuals at 

 Thompson's Mills, North Georgia. One, a 

 very small specimen, was found beneath some 

 rocks in a dry, upland thicket, beneath which 

 was a vigorous growth of Opuntia opuntia. 

 The second specimen, which was of rather 

 large size for the species, was dug from 

 soft, rich soil in low ground bordering 

 a small creek. The scarlet snake is very 

 beautifully patterned above with scarlet, 

 orange and black. It is a rather sluggish 

 creature and is perfectly harmless, usually ma- 

 king little effort to escape when handled. 

 Owing to its habit of keeping concealed be- 

 neath rocks, decayed logs or soil, this little 

 snake is not frequently seen. Although the 

 scarlet snake can not be considered a com- 

 mon species in this region, yet many of the 

 farmers here claim they have met with them, 

 usually during spring plowing. The scarlet 

 snake probably occurs at higher altitudes in 

 Georgia, though less frequently. It has been 

 taken at Gainesville, Georgia. 



Until the summer of 1893, when a specimen 

 of this snake was taken in the District of Co- 

 lumbia, its range was recorded only from 

 South Carolina, throughout the Gulf States to 

 the Mississippi, mainly in the coastal plain 

 area. Although it appears most abundant in 

 the low, sandy coastal areas of the southeast- 

 ern states, and has been considered typically 

 an austroriparian form, it is without doubt 

 also well represented in Georgia throughout 

 the Carolinian area, and the limits of its 

 range come very close to the mountains. 



The copperhead (Ancistrodon contortrix) 

 Linn, is occasionally taken in the Thompson's 

 Mills region. This reptile is widely distrib- 

 uted throughout the east from New England 

 to Florida and beyond the Appalachians to 

 Illinois. In the Thompson's Mills region the 

 copperhead is confined generally to more or less 

 wooded, dry upland situations. It especially 

 prefers dry, rocky hillsides. Its rich brown 

 mottlings of various shades harmonize it well 

 with the soil and dead leaves of thickets and 

 open rocky woods, which it frequents. The 



food of the copperhead consists of various 

 small creatures as frogs, mice, etc., and very 

 probably caterpillars and insects also. At 

 Thompson's Mills, in October, 1909, the 

 writer saw a pair of large copperheads killed 

 in a shallow ditch on a dry, wooded hillside. 

 Both were lying stretched out together in the 

 sunshine when killed. It was discovered that 

 one of these had in its mouth a very large, 

 hairy caterpillar frequently seen in oak woods. 



The copperhead is one of our dangerously 

 poisonous snakes, but will usually try to es- 

 cape quietly if given a chance. It should be 

 particularly looked for around rocky cliffs in 

 dry woods, for this is its favorite habitat. 

 The writer well remembers meeting a copper- 

 head in this situation while collecting ferns. 

 He had jumped down into a shallow, rock-en- 

 closed hollow filled with leaves. There was a 

 sudden commotion beneath his feet of some 

 creature trying vigorously to escape, which at 

 first thought he concluded must be a rabbit. 

 On glancing dovni, it was something of a sur- 

 prise to see a huge copperhead securely pinned 

 down by his weight. It took but an instant to 

 leap completely clear of snake and hollow, and 

 the reptile slowly made its escape among the 

 rocks. 



H. A. Allard 



BuEEAU OF Plant Indtjstby, 

 Washington, D. C, 

 December, 1909 



ON CHANGES OF ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE EST 

 NORTH AMERICA 



In order to arrive at a clear understanding 

 of the complex phenomena of periodic or non- 

 periodic climatical changes — and the effect 

 they have on the yield of crops — I found it 

 necessary to approach these problems in a 

 very systematic way. 



It seemed to me that two kinds of investiga- 

 tions had to be made simultaneously. 



Firstly, the research of the meteorological 

 causes having affected the crops, during dif- 

 ferent years in different countries. In the 

 case of the United States it would be easy to 

 draw conclusions from the great amount of 

 information collected and published by the de- 



